Do the A-Z author challenge

Austen, Jane – Pride And Prejudice
Bradbury, Ray – Fahrenheit 451
Golder, Arthur – Memoirs of a Geisha
Heller, Joseph – Catch 22
Lee, Harper – To Kill A Mockingbird
Palahniuk, Chuck – Fight Club
Steinbeck, John – The Grapes of Wrath
Thompson, Hunter S. – The Rum Diary

A: Gunnar Ardelius: I need you more then I love you and I love you to bits
B: Alessandro Baricco: Silk
C: Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist
D: Sijie Dai: Balzac and the little Chineese Seamstress
E: Jeffrey Eugenides: Middlesex
F: Torbjörn Flygt: Verkan

A-Jane Austen-Pride And Prejudice
B-Dan Brown-The DaVinci Code
C-Caroline B. Cooney-Goddess Of Yesterday
D-John H. Davis-Mafia Dynasty
E-
F-Jim Fielder-Slow Death
G-Margaret George-The Memoirs Of Cleopatra
H-Thomas Harris-Silence Of The Lambs
I-
J-
K-Stephen King-It
L-
M-Christopher Moore-Lamb
N-Irene Nemirovsky-Suite Francaise
O-
P-Mario Puzo-The Godfather
Q-
R-Anne Rice-Interview With A Vampire (Vampire Chronicles )

Adams, Douglas: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Baker, Nicholson: The Mezzanine
Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
Du Marier, Daphne: Rebecca
Eugenides, Jeffrey: Middlesex
Faber, Michel: The Crimson Petal and the White
George, Margaret: The Autobiography of Henry VIII
Heller, Joseph: Catch-22
Ibsen, Henrik: Hedda Gabbler
Joyce, James: Ulysses
K: ???
London, Jack: White Fang
Mills, Mark: Amagansett
Nabakov, Vladimir: Lolita
Orwell, George: 1984
Pratchett, Terry: Men at Arms
Q: ???
Rutherford, Edward: Sarum
Stoker, Bram: Dracula
Tolstoy, Leo: War & Peace
U: ???
Von Armin, Elizabeth: The Enchanted April
Waters, Sarah: Fingersmith
X: ???
Y: ???
Zimmer Bradley, Marion: The Fall of Atlantis

A:Abbott Elizabeth, A History of Mistresses
B:Brockman Suzanne, Body Guard
C:Castle Jayne, Dark Light
D:Davidson Mary Janice, The Royal Pain – such a boring book so predictable!
E:Eagle Kathleen, This Time Forever
F:Ferrer Caridad, Adios to my old life
G:Goodman Jo, The Price of Desire
H:Higgins Kristan, Catch of the day
I:
J:James, Eloisa, Fool for love – one of those romance u re-read inadvertantly.Not as good as the first time but not bad.
K:Kleypas Lisa, Seduce me at Sunrise
L:Litton Josie, Come back to me
M:MacInerney, Karen, On the Prowl
N:
O:
P:Phillips S. E., Natural Born Charmer
Q:
R:Roberts Nora, Birthright – i remember why I dont like this author, it eventually gets good but soooo slow to start
S:Samuels Barbera, No place like home
T:Thomas Melody, Beauty and the Duke – nothing beyond the norm, well developed female but not male characher.
U:
V:
W:Wiggs Susan, The LakeHouse – alright, good character development of female but not male, can’t we have a hero with some depth here?
X:
Y:
Z:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (USA)

Quick and somewhat interesting read. The story is set in a futuristic USA where reading (critical thinking) is outlawed and censorship runs amok. Guy Montag, the protagonist, is a firefighter- but not in the sense that we are familiar with for he burns books for a living. After striking up a friendship with a teenage neighbor Guy begins to question the norm but his world tuns upside down when he is caught with the contraband. While on the run he comes into contact with a group of fugitive scholars and commits to memorizing written word for the sake of the future.

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there. It doesn’t matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that is like you after you take your hands away.”

A: Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)- Things Fall Apartby
B: Ray Bradbury (USA)- Fahrenheit 451

*The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay *

Wonderful book – the characters are so real that when I came to the end I let out a choked sob.

_Things Fall Apart_by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)

Excellent novel which is apparently required reading at several universities. The story touched on themes of tradition vs change, fate, communication and social status. It details the success and failures of a clansman as he strives to create a legacy distinct from his fathers. It follows him through his seven year stint in exile to his struggle to uphold tradition in the face of the arrival of Christian missionaries to his eventual resignation that “worthy men are no more”.

*I will read books in alphabetical order and only by authors not previously read
*I will read a book by an author from each continent (excluding Antarctica) and will try to cover as many genres as possible
*I will only read books that have been gifted, checked out from the library or borrowed
*I will read at least one book a month
*If all goes well in the completion of this goal I will start the A-Z Title Challenge

All Fun And Games until Someone Loses an Eye

This book IS fun and games, easy to read. It was touted as crime/action so should have been easy to start, but I think the names Lex Bett and Som made it feel sci-fi like and I apparently have an inner prejudice to that genre. Finally snuggled down into the duvet and started reading and actually laughed out loud in parts. One part gave me the smirking giggles and I kept flipping back to the front to confirm it had been written by a man as it had the feel of chick-lit to it (not something I’m drawn to, but small doses are fine). Entertaining.